About SSJ
History of SSJ
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO BE!
We are often asked why we took up the tedious challenge of starting our own small school. The hard work and combating adversity was worth the time and effort because our students and this community deserve the best teachers and opportunities.
In August of 2010, the School of Social Justice began its first year of operation as a small school with a class of 9th graders, the Class of 2014. The common values and beliefs that define our team serve as the guiding and driving force behind creating and delivering to all students a rigorous, relevant and engaging curriculum, the piece that had been missing for several decades in the local high school.
When you come to the city of Huntington Park, you fall in love with the residents. They are humble, hardworking and loyal. It is no surprise that the four core teachers, Joy Apostol, Isagani Celzo, Pilar Diaz and Enedelia Toledo have never imagined any other place than this city to continue our interaction with students. Hence we put the interest and heart of our students before our own. We envisioned a place that would open doors of possibilities: a place where students and teachers made connections beyond the academics, and a place where students, parents, and staff genuinely cared about each other. We stood long hours after school and put in time during the weekend to make this dream a reality. It is with this passion that we make every decision and every task centered with students in mind.
Our heart’s desire is that we plant the caring seed to all the students that step foot in the hallways and classrooms of SSJ and that they will continue to develop in them the voice that was once silent. And that they see in them what our footprints started –that if they work hard they can achieve all things even with adversities.
We are often asked why we took up the tedious challenge of starting our own small school. The hard work and combating adversity was worth the time and effort because our students and this community deserve the best teachers and opportunities.
In August of 2010, the School of Social Justice began its first year of operation as a small school with a class of 9th graders, the Class of 2014. The common values and beliefs that define our team serve as the guiding and driving force behind creating and delivering to all students a rigorous, relevant and engaging curriculum, the piece that had been missing for several decades in the local high school.
When you come to the city of Huntington Park, you fall in love with the residents. They are humble, hardworking and loyal. It is no surprise that the four core teachers, Joy Apostol, Isagani Celzo, Pilar Diaz and Enedelia Toledo have never imagined any other place than this city to continue our interaction with students. Hence we put the interest and heart of our students before our own. We envisioned a place that would open doors of possibilities: a place where students and teachers made connections beyond the academics, and a place where students, parents, and staff genuinely cared about each other. We stood long hours after school and put in time during the weekend to make this dream a reality. It is with this passion that we make every decision and every task centered with students in mind.
Our heart’s desire is that we plant the caring seed to all the students that step foot in the hallways and classrooms of SSJ and that they will continue to develop in them the voice that was once silent. And that they see in them what our footprints started –that if they work hard they can achieve all things even with adversities.